Where Duty Called Part 10

If Jack counseled patience in waiting for the insurgent's return, he quite forgot his advice before Manuel Marlin put in an appearance, and with good reasons, for it was well into the following night before he came. He seemed then greatly excited, and told his story in a disjointed way.

"Senors' friends came ash.o.r.e in a boat from the _Libertador_," he declared, in what seemed an exultant tone. "Then Castro's spies captured them and threw them into prison. But senors need not fear, for the Sons of Liberty will soon free them. Even now Matos is hewing his way toward the capital. Many recruits are being added to his army, and never did the prospects of down-trodden Venezuela look brighter."

"So our friends are held as prisoners of war?" asked Jack.

"As spies under Matos," replied Manuel. "Perhaps I should add, senors, that Francisco de Caprian has been recognized as an old offender against Castro. But they cannot hold him any more than they can hold long El Mocho."

If this information did not disturb the spirits of Manuel Marlin, it did awaken considerable uneasiness on the part of Ronie and Jack.

"Perhaps, if we should see the authorities at San Carlos they might set Harrie, at least, free," said Ronie.

Manuel shook his head.

"No power below Castro's can free them until Matos enters San Carlos."

Ronie was about to reply, when a commotion outside of the dwelling arrested their attention, and before they were able to understand what it meant, the wife of the Venezuelan hurriedly entered the apartment, exclaiming:

"Fly, for your life, Manuel! The yard is full of soldiers searching for the Gringos!"

Even Ronie knew this last word was a term applied by the Spanish races to Americans, and that he and Jack were the objects sought for by the newcomers.

Manuel Marlin quickly antic.i.p.ated the truth, and he cried out in alarm:

"We have been betrayed! Some one has carried the news of your coming to El Capitan. Quick! flee from here, if you value your lives and mine."

[1] President Castro was horn of humble parentage, his parents being of mixed blood, mostly Indian, in the mountainous district of Western Venezuela. Thus the revolutionists were wont to paint him as an untamable savage, who had come to the surface in the turbulent broil of the uprisings of the times and had hewn and burned his way to the presidency. Manuel Matos was of superior birth, and was related by marriage to the Guzman Blanco family. He had had some military experience under President Blanco, but was more of a civic leader. He claimed that the Castro administration was corrupt.--AUTHOR.

[2] Singularly enough, General Castro was elected President for a term of six years on February 20, 1902, within a few days of this talk.--AUTHOR.

CHAPTER XI.

A PERILOUS FLIGHT.

Renewed outcries now came from outside the building, and it seemed evident that the mob was about to enter the place. Certainly it would unless something could be done to evade such a movement. Jack Greenland was the first to speak:

"Can't you or the woman parley with them long enough for us to slip away by the rear of the building, Manuel?"

"Me--parley? They would string me up like a dog. Curses upon their pig heads!"

By this time his wife had become calmer than he, and she showed that if he was lacking in courage to meet the enemy, she was not. So she immediately offered to keep the crowd at bay long enough for them to effect their escape, her husband showing great eagerness to profit by her heroism. Accordingly, she returned to the front part of the dwelling without loss of time, and a moment later Ronie heard her challenging the leader of the would-be captors.

"While it may not be good policy for us to use them too freely, it may not be amiss for us to provide ourselves with firearms," said Jack.

"Si, senors," replied Manuel, quickly darting away from them, but returning in an incredibly short time with a couple of short, but serviceable weapons, one of which he handed to each of his companions.

"Follow me, senors. They are getting impatient, and Dolores will not be able to hold them back long. I think we had better cross the bay to the other sh.o.r.e. I have a boat."

As Ronie and Jack had no better plan to offer, they followed the speaker in silence. He led the way to the rear of his humble dwelling, where they paused to listen for sounds of their enemies. These came from the front, and judging that the soldiers had not yet surrounded the place they plunged boldly into the midst of the dense tropical plants which reached above their heads, Manuel still leading the way.

But they had not gone far before he suddenly stopped, and motioned for his companions to do the same.

As the three fugitives thus abruptly paused they heard the sound of footsteps, which rapidly became plainer. There were evidently several persons approaching at a headlong rate, and knowing only enemies were likely to be in that vicinity, they dropped swiftly and silently to the earth, the broad leaves of the thrifty plants about them affording s.h.i.+elds for their bodies.

A minute later, half a dozen men burst through the rank vegetation within a yard of where they were lying! Jack and Ronie, believing they were going to be discovered, thought hastily of flight in another direction, but the party quickly swept past and disappeared in the distance below them. As soon as they felt it was prudent they resumed their flight, having no further cause for alarm until they came in sight of the narrow body of water ahead. Between the growth and this was a broad belt of sand, where not a shrub found sustenance. The clear, starlit night made this s.p.a.ce almost as bright as by day.

"Hark!" panted Manuel Marlin, "they are coming! They have scented us like bloodhounds. Our only hope is in reaching the boat. It is just above that highest sand bar. Run for your lives, senors!"

Ronie and Jack now heard plainly the sounds of their enemies approaching from their rear, and the exciting words of their companion were not needed to urge them ahead. With light, swift steps they bounded forward across the open country. When about halfway to the sh.o.r.e a volley of bullets was sent after them, and then their pursuers burst out from the growth into sight.

The aim of the pursuing crowd must have been poor, for their shots failed to strike any of the fugitives, who were urged on to greater effort, if that were possible. Jack, glancing back, saw the party following at a furious pace upon their heels, and instinctively glanced toward the water. It was nearer to the boat than back to their pursuers, and he felt confident they would be able to reach the little craft in season. Ronie was slightly ahead, while Manuel was as far behind, unable to make as good speed as the young American engineer.

"Don't leave me!" sputtered the latter, and as if he were going to make this a necessity he stumbled over a sand knoll, to measure his length on the ground. His companions, not hearing him fall upon the soft earth, and being ahead, were not aware of his mishap until prolonged yells from their pursuers and piteous cries from him, caused both to look backward.

The ring of triumph in the tones of the soldiers in the distance told plainly that they antic.i.p.ated a certain capture of at least one of the fugitives, but Manuel rallied quickly, and was again upon his feet.

"Keep on for the boat!" cried Jack, who felt that it would be fatal for them to stop now. So they sped ahead, with Manuel sprinting his best to overtake them, and the armed posse behind madly pursuing.

They were soon close down to the boat, drawn up on the white sand, out of the reach of the water, and then Ronie and Jack, panting for breath, stopped beside it.

"Quick! push it out into the water," said Jack, seizing upon the gunwale and giving the object a furious shove toward the tide. Ronie had already caught upon the boat, and together they sent it forward more than its length in the twinkling of an eye. But the short delay enabled Manuel to overtake them, so, as the boat floated on the water, he sprang into the stern. There were a pair of oars in the bottom, and Jack and Ronie each took one of these, to begin to send the light craft flying across the narrow bay, while the Venezuelan steered for the opposite sh.o.r.e.

Renewed cries from their pursuers reached their ears in the midst of this flight, and another volley of shot followed them. But the latter proved as ineffectual as the first, and glancing back a few minutes later, Manuel gave expression to a chuckle of delight, while he said:

"We've outstripped them, senors. There is not another boat they can get in season to follow us before we reach the land."

Nothing further was said until the keel of the boat grated on the sand, when Ronie and Jack jumped out upon the land, closely followed by Manuel. The shadowy forms of their enemies could be discerned upon the other side of the water, but feeling comparatively safe from them, our twain turned to their guide for such suggestion as he might have to offer. It was a beautiful tropical night, the full, round moon of the South, now fairly above the horizon, was gliding over a sky of cloudless blue, having already driven the stars into the background of s.p.a.ce, so that only Venus, the zone of Orion and the brilliant radii of the Southern Cross were visible.

Away from their feet stretched the silvery mirror of the sea, marking the meridian of the moon. So calm and silent lay the deep water that a satellite sky seemed carved from its azure depths. Upon the other hand, the country, growing more and more broken in the distance, lay clothed in its tropic verdure as silent and mysterious as the Blue Water Empire. The beauty of nature, however, had no attraction for Manuel Marlin, who felt that his life was at stake, and only swift flight could save him.

"A friend of mine, living a short distance from here, has a couple of horses you can get," he said. "I shall not need one," he added, seeing their looks of inquiry, "as I shall not go very far. I have friends who will afford me protection until this shall blow over."

Then he led the way up from the sh.o.r.e and along a path at times nearly choked with the overhanging growth, until they finally reached the home of a planter. After considerable trouble Manuel succeeded in rousing the owner, who did not appear in very good humor at being thus disturbed. But as soon as he understood the errand of his untimely caller he became more genial. Would he let the Americanos have horses to carry important news to the revolutionists near Caracas? Most a.s.suredly he would for so important a purpose! It will be noticed that Manuel did not try to stick very near to the truth in the matter, and neither of our friends felt like correcting him under the circ.u.mstances.

Finally the planter ordered out a couple of peons, who soon brought forward a pair of small, but hardy ponies, which their owner declared were good for all that might be required of them. Leaving Manuel to arrange for the loan of them in such a manner as he thought best, Ronie and Jack sprang into the saddles and prepared to start upon their long and hazardous journey.

"Keep your eyes open for our friends, Manuel," were the parting words of Ronie.

"Trust me for that, senor, and may you live to come back with the welcome word that Caracas is once more safe from the spoils of the mercenary knaves that flock to the mountain savage."

Murmuring an unintelligible reply to this, the couple then urged their ponies forward, and a moment later were starting side by side upon the first stage of a ride through a country overrun with hostile armies and dangers which they had not stopped to contemplate.

CHAPTER XII.